OUGD505: Module Evaluation

What skills have you developed through this module and how effectively do you think you have applied them? 
Conceptual development has been one of the main skills that I have learnt throughout this module, from the responsive module I have learnt how valuable and important a concept is to any design work as it need to underline the entire bod of work. I have been developing this process of coming up with concept within the main what is good brief and within the smaller briefs. I have applied the skills from responsive and the studio sessions within this module to come up with a range of concepts for set briefs and then be analytical in the selection of the most appropriate and relevant concept.

Within the module I have also chosen to focus more towards digital design, in particular focusing on user interface design and I have been developing those skills within the main what is good brief. After the initial concept development stage, my final concept involved developing an mobile application. With this in mind I have, from the beginning, been developing a set of skills which involve me working to a professional work through. For example developing brand guidelines and creating pixel perfect design that work on the iPhone screen. These new skills have been applied well as the iPhone mock up that I have created working perfectly on iPhone and is of the correct proportions, skills which I didn’t use or have in previous modules when I’ve designed for iPhone.


What approaches to/methods of design production have you developed and how have they informed your design development process? The main approach to design development that I used within the brief was producing a set of brand guidelines at the beginning of the brief which I then used as a guide for everything I designed and is something that would happen in a professional design studio and something I have been trying to emulate within the module. I helped greatly in ensuring continuity between everything that I was designing. I think the production of the research booklet was also a new approach to design production as I used my research booklet like my brand guidelines as a constant reference for the content of what I was designing for which meant I was designing relevant products for an appropriate auidence.

What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalize on these? 
The main skills which I have focusing on developing have been my digital design skills and these are skills which I hope to capitalize on during the summer I go on placement at a digital design studio. I have been working on developing a professional work flow which I can take forward with me as I begin to specialize in this area of design in the future.

Putting boards together is a skills that I have been developing since the start of my second year and is something I think I have got tremendously good at and is something that has been put into practice a lot within this modules briefs. Especially within the what is good brief in which I created 15 boards to demonstrate the final products and the application. Moving forward this will be a skills that I will carry with me into my future as a graphic designer as it’s an essential tool to my practice.


What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
One weakness I can identity within my work is my range of print based products, I struggle make print a relevant format for my main what is good brief. The main concept was heavily digital focused and I found it difficult to find relevant and appropriate print based products that weren’t just being designed for the sake of having printed products. I overcame this by pushing my concept a little further and relating my concept to business. Print techniques however also lacked within the final printed products as again it simply wasn’t relevant to use them in the products I designed, however I have still developed skills in producing and outsourcing print jobs as well as working across print and digital, as the works in RGB whereas print is CYMK.


Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? 

• If I were to to do this brief again, time management would be the main aspect that I would aim to structure better, time management isn’t something I usually struggle with however within the module I haven’t dealt with it all to well as I’ve left a lot of until the end which is no way to work. If I had better time managed then this meant I would have had to push briefs further. 
• I would leave myself time to learn After Effects, during the initial concept stages of the brief I proposed that I would make a video demonstration of the app but I had never worked with after effects before, I spent a few days trying to work with the software but couldn’t achieve the results I wanted so I had to abandoned that aspect of the brief. 
• I would aim to experiment with more print techniques, as my brief was heavily digitally based it was hard for me to do this thought I did bring this aspect into the production of my research booklet instead. However I would still have liked to experiment with some new techniques. 
• If I were redoing this brief I would probably want to push the concept even further and see where it could go in terms of being a brand experience rather than just an app and website and also push the business side of the application and how montization can inform features of the application. 
• I would also plan for contingency time when outsourcing print jobs as I found out in within the what is good brief not everything always goes to plan and prints don’t always arrive when they say they should so time should be planned to allow for thing like this to happen and for them to be overcome. 

Attendance = 4
Punctuality = 5
Motivation = 5
Commitment = 5
Quantity of work produced = 4
Quality of work produced = 5

Good is New York City: Final Artboards

Good is New York City: Complete Website

Good is New York City: Complete Application

Good is New York City: Research Booklet Photographed

 

 

Good is New York City: Brand Guidelines

Good is New York City: Viewmaster Photographs

 

 

Good is New York City: Final Promo Pack

 

 

Good is New York City: Website Development

The website component of the brief works in sync with the mobile application, as the mobile application is used for the actual experience and exploration of the city, the website allows the user to relive this experience online, over and over. The websites used Google Maps StreetView, in which the detour is then mapped on top. The reason for this is I wanted the user to feel as if they are back exploring new york, and streetview allows me to do this. The same path the user took on the detour is created digital and you move through the experience as if you're walking down the street. 

 

Demonstrated here alike the app the points of interest that the user encountered along the way also appear on the online detour, all of the these points can easily be accessed with the timeline of the detour at the bottom of the webpage. 

When a user click on a point of interest and light box appears over the page, where they are then provided with the relevant information, this works as a three column layout in the first column details that specific point of interest encountered and the middle collumn shows the photos taken and the final column allows for comments which are linked to the detourers Facebook pages. this allows for themselves and their friends to comment on their detour experience. 

These columns are also responsive in that they can be expanded and collapses to revealed less or more information. For example if a user wanted to see the photos at a larger scale the middle column can be expanded to show larger photos. 

The same approach has been taken to each of the types of point of interest that the user can encounter including, galleries and challenges.

Users check ins also appear on the website so friends and family and see, comment and explore the places that there friends went to building a community and conversation around their detour as well as advertising these business to users who may want to go there based on their friends having a good time there. 

Good is New York City: Viewmaster Development

To promote the application to new tourists and to get people to start downloading and using the application I have decided to created a mail shot which can be mailed to tourists with there tickets for example for this can act as a leaflet to given out at tourist information centres. The idea of the viewmaster stems from the functionality within the app which works like a viewmaster when the user chooses there detour, therefore I have decided to translate this into a paper version as a way to promote the application. 

Initially before designing the viewmaster I did some research into the visual aesthetic of the View Master and how it worked and looked so I had a point of reference for when I was designing my own. I gathered a selection of images from the internet as well as starting to develop and initial range of possible colours. 

From here I created a Mock up of how my paper based view master would work, It consists of three pieces the front and back of the view master and the the middle section which moves round in a circular motion alike the view master. 

The centre moving piece I have then affixed to the front panel to allow it to move freely.

These two pieces together are the affixed with double sided to the back piece, allowing the middle piece to still move freely. 

Here you can see how the middle piece is moved by pulling it round via the open segment at the top.

Using the mock up and my initial research into the visuals of the viewmaster I have created my viewmaster using illustrator. The traditional view master is red in colour however my brand is based in the colour orange therefore I have made the viewmaster orange with a red tint to make sure the idea and concept still translates to the target audience. 

Good is New York City: Promo Pack Development

For the Detour Business part of the brief I am creating a promo pack to advertise the application to local business in New York, the pack works at two part, the A2 paper fold into an A5 format, this will be the format which is sent through the post, as the user fold out this A5 format the pieces acts as a leaflet explain the application how it works and how it can benefit there business. Once completely folded out by user the reserve side of the page is an A2 poster, this is a poster to put up within their business to promote the application to their customer. Initially I have started to plan out how this format will work within the mock up above, doing this is also beneficial as it has enabled to see what content goes where and which orientation the content needs to be in. 

Secondly I have planned out what content will be going where within the leaflet/promo pack. It was important for me to plan this on paper so that content flow was correct and the content was in the right order and that it made sense to the user.

I have now started to produce the promo pack digitally, I have been experimenting with some visual variation for the poster.  I think the final layout is the most effective as it gives a sense of movement of the image behind the hand/iphone which is what I wanted to achieve. 

Final composition and functioning of the promo pack.